Sara Duterte mocks appearance of Manila lawmaker
INQUIRER.net/ Faith Argosino
MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte mocked on Thursday the physical appearance of a Manila lawmaker, whom she said “accuses her of everything without any evidence.”
Although Duterte did not mention any names during her speech, former Manila Mayor Isko Moreno’s campaign rally in Tondo, Manila, was held in a public space along District 2, which is represented by Congressman Rolando Valeriano in the House of Representatives.
“Nagtataka ako sainyo, yung congressman ninyo dito,” the vice president said, which immediately drew cheers from the crowd.
(I’m wondering why he is your congressman here.)
“Yung congressman ninyo, yan yung mukha ng distrito ninyo. ‘Yan yung pambato ninyo doon sa House of Representatives. Unang una sa sobrang laki ng leeg niya naiipit na yung boses niya,” she added.
(Your congressman is the face of the district. He represents you in the House of Representatives. First of all, his neck is so big that’s why his voice gets squeaky.)
Duterte then imitated the lawmaker’s way of speaking while using her high-pitched voice.
She said: “Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker,” which drew laughter from the crowd.
According to her, voters should pick candidates similar to the “face and capacity” of the candidate endorsed by Moreno, Former Manila 2nd District Rep. Carlo Vincent Lopez.
“Hindi ko alam ano bang nangyari nung 2022 at yan ang binoto ninyo? Ikwento niyo sa akin. Kasi nung nakita ko siya nag sasalita patungkol sakin, [sabi ko] congressman yan ng ciudad ng Maynila?” she said.
(I don’t know what happened in the 2022 polls. Why did you vote for him? Tell me. Because when I saw him talking about me, I asked ‘he’s a congressman of Manila?)
Last year, the House committee on good government and public accountability launched a probe into the budget and fund utilization of the Office of the Vice President (OVP).
The probe stemmed from the privilege speech of Valeriano on September 3, 2024, and the motu proprio inquiry based on the manifestation of Batangas 2nd District Rep. Gerville Luistro.
READ: OVP urged to prove financial aid beneficiaries are real
In his privilege speech, Valeriano questioned the proposed budget of the OVP for 2025 and the status of its “ayuda” (aid) programs, reportedly limited within the National Capital Region from 2023 to 2025.
The lawmaker said the OVP should prove that the 977,615 beneficiaries of its financial aid are not “ghost beneficiaries.”
Aside from this, questions regarding the confidential funds were likewise raised during the hearings last year.
A COA report in 2022 revealed that the OVP had an additional allotment of P125 million for confidential expenses during the second semester of the same year.
ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro, however, pointed out that the OVP had no such allocation in the 2022 General Appropriations Act, adding that its transfer was illegal.
In September 2024, Marikina 2nd District Rep. Stella Quimbo bared that the confidential fund (CF) was spent in 11 days during the plenary debates on COA’s proposed budget for last year.
Findings of the probe
During the probe, two OVP officials admitted to releasing millions worth of CFs to security officers Col. Raymund Lachica and Col. Dennis Nolasco.
Lachica served as the commander of the VPSPG, while Nolasco was a deputy commander.
VP special disbursing officer (SDO) Gina Acosta revealed that she left all the CF to Lachica, who was tasked to manage them. Similarly, former DepEd SDO Edward Fajarda said he released the funds to Nolasco, who was assigned by Duterte to disburse them.
In December last year, the House panel submitted 1,992 individuals linked to the alleged misuse of the OVP confidential funds under the helm of Duterte.
Citing PSA, Ortega said 670 of the 1,992 names had a “most likely match” in PSA records; 1,322 individuals had no birth records; 1,456 had no marriage records (with only 536 possible matches); and 1,593 had no death records (with just 399 possible matches).
Earlier, panel chair Manila 3rd District Rep. Joel Chua said 405 of the 667 names found on the ARs for the CFs of the DepEd have no record with the PSA.
Among the names released by the committee so far were “Mary Grace Piattos,” “Renan Piatos,” “Pia Piatos-Lim,” “Xiaome Ocho,” “Jay Kamote,” “Miggy Mango,” “Amoy Liu,” “Fernan Amuy,” and “Joug De Asim,” among many others.
